The Most Cunning Snake
by Elluea
Summary: Hermione, a "filthy mudblood," is sorted into Slytherin. Will she be able to change the attitude of the snakes, and even better, how the rest of the school views them?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: If I owned I would not be publishing fanfiction. The world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.**

**AN: **Hermione will defiantly be OOC for this story. For the most part it will follow cannon, apart for the obvious that Hermione is in Slytherin. Why she was sorted in Slytherin will be explained in time. Ron and Harry will feature, while the both won't have a major part for some time.

* * *

Hermione Granger has always been a strong-willed girl. She knows what she wants, how to get it and where she will end up in life. However there were many things that she was not. Somewhere on that list, if she had even thought about it, she would have placed witch on there, however it seemed that life had yet another surprise for her.

When the stern looking woman arrived on their doorstep without so much as a warning, Hermione knew that the day wouldn't end well. When the woman turned her nose up in disgust at the squalor that was her home she immediately disliked the woman. It was then that she dropped the bombshell.

Actually before she could divulge the life changing information, Hermione had to leave the woman standing not too happily on the doorstep while she went and told her mum of their visitor. What really happened was Hermione had to wake up the woman that was her mother and tell her to change into some clean clothes, and maybe brush her teeth.

Twenty minutes later the now highly disgruntled visitor was finally allowed in the house, her face showing that she defiantly did not like her treatment. She introduced herself as Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hermione was never considered dumb; in fact she was the smartest girl her age at school, but when she was told she was a witch it was quite understandable she thought the idea absolutely absurd. After much persuasion, and many 'magic tricks' and the mother and daughter were convinced. Well not so much convinced that there was magic, rather that there were both suffering under a rather good hallucinogen. It was only with a few good nights rest and a visit to Diagon Alley that allowed the two to accept that Hermione Granger was in fact a witch.

As September first drew closer, Hermione actually got excited. There were few things in life that excited Hermione. Books were one, and getting straight As were another. Those two things finished off the list nicely. It was short and sweet, exactly how Hermione liked it. For if she limited her joys to a few things in life then there would be even few things to disappoint her. Books were rarely a disappointment when they contained such a vast amount of knowledge.

However her enthusiasm for school had soon disappeared during dinner. To her dismay she had been sorted into Slytherin house. Of course she had read all about the houses in Hogwarts, A History. Dinner started off well enough; she sat between a Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass. At the beginning talked was kept to a minimal as everyone ate. But of course it was a _boy _who had completely destroyed her desire to learn at a magical school.

"Granger, I haven't heard that name before. You must be a halfblood. What did your mother get drunk and knocked to some muggle or something?" The boy, who had rather loudly introduced himself as Draco Malfoy, asked and all the surrounding students went silent.

Hermione was fuming the rudeness of the boy! How dare he accuse her mother of such a thing.

"Actually both my parents are muggles. My mother did not get _knocked up _while she was drunk; my parents were married before I was born." Hermione finished smugly. It was then that she realized not only that the people around her had stopped talking, but the sound of cutlery on plates had also stopped.

"You're a mudblood? In Slytherin? That is outrageous! There has to be a mistake. Father will have to hear about this. I will not share my house with a mudblood, you don't even deserve to be here."  
Malfoy's voice had risen to a point that not only was the whole of Slytherin house listening, but the majority of the students and teachers were too.

It was at this stage that Hermione stood and left her unfinished dinner and ran from the silent Great Hall. She did not know where she was going, not that she could see anyway. Tears were falling thick and fast and clouding her vision. She kept on running until her legs could not carry her further and her breathes came in short and painfully. She eventually collapsed into a cubicle somewhere higher in the castle.

Hermione could not believe what had happened. She had never had any friends before. Until she was eight she attended a prestigious private school in London, but nobody wanted to be friends with the _freak _who constantly had her hand up in class and eagerly corrected other student's mistakes. When she was forced to move to a public school due to, well she didn't want to think about the reason, the students didn't want to be friends with the girl who always wore dirty and tattered clothes.

But she thought that this would be a new beginning. Being in a magical world would be such a change from her muggle primary school. Hermione thought that she would be with people similar to her and be accepted. Of course she had read all about the magical world, and she knew what mudblood meant. It was a derogatory word only used by those purebloods that believed themselves to be so much better that muggleborns.

Hermione had a good argument with the sorting hat. She wanted to be placed in Ravenclaw, where the studious dwell. She did not want to be in Slytherin, while she liked the qualities of Slytherin for she was definitely cunning and ambitious, she did not want to become a dark wizard that Slytherin was popular for producing. But after a long battle she had no choice and made her way to the Slytherin table. It was at that stage the she made herself believe that maybe once, just once, a book was wrong and had exaggerated about Slytherin being such a terrible house. She decided to at least give it chance.

But know she wanted to never return to that house. She didn't to face that Malfoy or any her dorm mates. She wanted to go home where she would be attending a local school in the day, and by night become the mother to her own mother who could no longer look after herself due to the always present alcohol in her blood.

Time passed and Hermione heard the soft thumps of many feet drawing nearer, which were somewhat muffled by many voices. Bitter thoughts ran through Hermione's mind as their obvious happiness tried entering her small cubicle. The feet and voices eventually passed and once again Hermione was left alone. She decided that in the morning she would find the headmaster and demand he send her home right away. There was no way she was going to stay at this school.

"Ms. Granger?" A deep voice asked, startling the girl. Slowly she opened her door to be face to face with a sallow looking man clad in all black robes. "Ms. Granger I am Professor Snape, the head of Slytherin house. While I understand you have not had the best welcoming to Hogwarts, it is time you returned to your dorm now."

"No! I'm not going back there. You can't make me."

"Unfortunately for you, you will find that actually I can. Now move." The dour man stood aside to allow the girl to exit.

"Seeing as you missed the announcements at the feast, it is my duty to inform you that the third floor corridor on the right side is out of bounds. So it the Forbidden Forest, hence it's name."

The two walked in silence down many stairs and took many turns. Hermione was defiantly lost, but did not care. She was too angry at this man. He should not be able to force her to her dorm if she does not want to, it is just unfair.

When they reached the dungeons Snape show Hermione the exact spot where the common room was located and told her the password.

"I expect you to not go wondering during the night, at any night. If I catch you out of hours again your punishment will be severe. The girl's dorms are through the door on the left. You will find your belongings already there. Now Goodnight." With that the man turned around and left Hermione to face her fellow peers by herself.

Quickly Hermione entered the common room. She barely had time to take in her surroundings before she ran towards the door that contained the girls room. She didn't want to allow anybody else the chance to verbally abuse her. Finding the door marked "First Years" Hermione entered. The giggling that could be heard seconds before stopped as four sets of eyes turned to her.

"Oh it's the mudblood." A light skinned brunette sneered. "Why don't you just crawl back into your cave. That's where your lot live right?" More giggled could be heard as Hermione raced to the only empty bed and pulled the hangings around the bed shut. Tears starting falling again as the girl continue her taunting.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N **Hermione won't be showing completely Slytherin traits just yet, she needs to settle in more and come to a her own conclusion about the house of Slytherin. Thank you to the people and reviewed and added this story to alerts and favourites! This being my first story it really excited me knowing people were actually reading it. I will try to update again friday week Australia time, however between now and then I will be working and then visiting my brother for a few days, but I'll try! And sorry for my betrayal of Snape being nothing more than a greasy git! But he need to be that way for now.

* * *

Sleep was the last thing on Hermione's mind that night. After the taunting and chatter of the other girls finally stopped, sleep just refused to come. Not that Hermione really cared; she had things to think about. By tomorrow morning she would not be intimated by her housemates. She wouldn't show them how much their words got to her. In fact she thought that there was nothing like a new start. Tomorrow morning she would be Hermione Granger, proud, confident mudblood. That is only if she couldn't get home.

By the time the sun was beginning to rise Hermione's eyes were heavy, for she had no more than 3 hours of restless sleep, but that had given her plenty of thinking time. She had more than just Plan A and Plan B sorted. She had made enough plans to go through the entire alphabet, and when she ran out of letters she began on the Greek alphabet. But that didn't mean she would forget one or two or maybe ten, she could recall any one of them at any moment.

Nobody had ever called Hermione stupid, and for a good reason – she was far from it. Generally the favourite name to call her was freak, but that was before she was forced into a house full of bigheaded bigots. This little information lead to Plan A.

**Plan A: **March to the headmaster's office as early as possible and demand a resort.

Yes, marching there was part of the plan, for if you were going to make a scene why not march. However if that failed, there was Plan B.

**Plan B: **If plan A fails, refuse to move from the office until the headmaster allows for her to be sent home away from this school.

Yes Hermione Granger knew what she wanted, and if denied, all hell would break loose. And surely the headmaster was a reasonably man, she would at least give her a chance to explain.

At first light the bushy haired child quietly crept into the shared bathrooms and readied herself for the day. When she entered the dorm, her confident façade faltered.

"Oi mudblood, you still here?" The sleepy voice came from the nearest bed. Hermione schooled her face into a neutral expression and ignored the continued taunting as she exited the dorm. Then came Plan C

**Plan C: **If caught by any housemates on the way to the headmaster's office, ignore their taunts and move on. They aren't worth the time.

Exiting the common room, Hermione went over the next plan, and that was to find a helpful older student, preferably a Hufflepuff, and ask them for directions to the headmaster's office. Unluckily it was not a student Hermione found, but a rather a teacher, and he found her.

"Ms. Granger! What are you doing out of bed already?" The recognisable voice of her head of house stopped her.

"Professor Snape, I..I was just exploring the castle. You know what they say, nothing like morning exercise." Hermione forced a smile, but it turned more into a grimace and her voice wavered after staring into those black eyes. She knew he did not believe her.

"Whatever the reason may be, at this time of the morning you should be in your common room, familiarising yourself with your fellow snakes." When cold dread hit Hermione it immobilised her limbs. "The common room is that way." He snapped after waiting for the girl to move.

"Yes, sir." Head and eyes down, Hermione slowly walked back to the common room, knowing the eyes of her Professor were following every step.

Hermione sat in a lonely, dark corner of the common. It was surprisingly large but the low dungeon like ceilings gave Hermione a small claustrophobic feeling. The greenish hue of the room and the numerous skulls just made her feel sick. Every now and then a quiet rush of water could be heard through the thick stone ceiling, giving the impression they were below the lake.

Finally all students had left the common room. She had been unnoticed, being in a slightly shadowed corner. At one stage Hermione thought she had caught out when her dorm mates left; a light skinned girl with wavy blond hair tied in a bun look directly at her, her greens eyes highlighted by the room, but said nothing. Hermione had no idea of her name, but was thankful to be ignored.

When there was all but ten minutes of breakfast remaining, Hermione regretfully left her safe haven corner. Many chattering students could be heard within the hall, and some were leaving, namely the Ravenclaw students and a few of the older Gryffindor students to retrieve their books. As silently as possible she sat on the end of her table closest to the doors. The girl that sat next to her glared at her, but left it at that. A new, shiny Head Badge girl pinned to her robes gave Hermione the slightest hope of protection. All confidence she had when she woke up and already disappeared, and the new, shiny Head Badge girl pinned to her robes gave Hermione the slightest hope of protection.

Of course breakfast hadn't been an easy or enjoyable meal. The older boy opposite her wouldn't allow her to grab any food telling her that 'Mudblood's don't deserve to eat at the Slytherin table,' while the head girl did nothing to stop it. A half eaten pancake coated in syrup narrowly missed her head, but flicks of syrup landed on her new uniform.

Hermione tried chanted the sorting hat's song over and over, specifically the part pertaining Slytherin. At last when Snape silently handed out her timetable the only line she was thinking about was "Perhaps in Slytherin, You'll make your real friends." '_Yeah right.'_

Allowing her peers to leave, Hermione walked some distance behind the Slytherins to their first class; transfiguration with the Gryffindors. Students jostled and bumped the small girl so that somehow she ended up walking near the group of Gryffindors.

"Hey Snake, watch where you're going!" A rather tall, red headed first year told Hermione after she accidently bumped into him.

"Ron, I think that was the one every they were all talking about. " He tried to whisper the next part, but even through his Irish accent Hermione still heard, "you know, the muggle born sorted into Slytherin.

Even through her slight rage as she stormed passed, Hermione heard the boy reply, "doesn't matter what blood you have, any Slytherin is as bad as the next. All dark wizards they are."

The school passed in an emotional blur for Hermione. Transfiguration was so far the most enjoyable subject, but that was because her teacher, Professor McGonagall allowed no talking during class unless they were practicing spells, which they weren't. This meant no more teasing. Due to nobody in Slytherin wanting to sit next to her, Hermione ended up next to a round faced, blond haired boy from Gryffindor. He was shy, and expecting hatred even from this boy due to the earlier comments, Hermione ignored any attempts at conversation he made. At the end of class he offered a small smile, greatly confusing the girl.

Class itself was intriguing to Hermione. She had of course read the required text books and then some, but it always gave her the satisfaction of correctly answering a question in class. Thoughts of finding the headmaster and asking for at least a resort still danced around her brain, but they were almost completely squashed by the thrill of learning. Of course they resurfaced completely when she heard the word 'mudblood' and admittedly it was many times.

Unknown to Hermione, she had many pairs of eyes watching her during dinner, and not just from her peers but from teachers too. Minerva had already spoken to Severus about her treatment, but he quickly dismissed it as the need for the student to adjust to Slytherin life, angering the older woman even more. Slytherin or not, no student deserved that kind of treatment.

Throughout dinner Hermione had numerous potatoes and slices of roast beef covered in gravy thrown at her. Try as she might to ignore it, their abuse did get to her. Only ten minutes into dinner and Hermione couldn't take it. She tried to be proud of who she was, but the need to clean the gravy out of her hair outweighed the need. Being the first to leave created a scene, but what attracted more of the student body's attention was the group of four Slytherin first years following her.

"Hey mudblood!" Called out the one she knew immediately as Malfoy as she neared the common room entrance. "Mind if you open the common room for us? Password's pureblood. In case you haven't got the hint, we don't accept your sort of filth in our house."

Anger rising to an all knew level, her grip tightened on her want to the point her knuckles turned white. Turning around to face the group to see their smug looks, the anger seemed to explode in her. A sharp flash of red escaped her wand, knocking over Malfoy in the process. The stunned look from Hermione was mimicked by Parkinson, similarly Crabbe and Goyle tried to look stunned, but it was hard to tell if that was their usual expression or not.

As her footsteps echoed around the dungeon corridor, a hysterical female voice was heard yelling.

"Don't just stand there, get help!"

It was almost 24 hours after Hermione's last emotion-powered run through the school, yet it was no different from the previous night. Her body ached and her breathing was heavy when she collapsed into an unlocked classroom. It had been some time since the incident with Malfoy, and she was waiting for the teachers to find her to punish her.

'_Stuff this. Stuff all of them. They can have their pure-blooded supremacy without me messing up their lives!' _Hermione thought as her body shook with exhaustion. '_I don't want to learn magic if it means being in a world control by racists!' _

"E…excuse me, are you okay?" A timid voice startled Hermione. Jumping from her place by the teacher's desk, Hermione looked up to see the familiar face of that Gryffindor boy from transfiguration. What was his name again?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/: **I beat my own deadline! For once I didn't actually procrastinate, when I had access to my computer I typed this up :) I'm happier with this chapter than I was for chapter two. I really want to change the last chapter but I struggled enough to just write what I did, so fixing it to a point where I'm is out of the question.

* * *

Hermione didn't know what to expect from the boy with the round yet friendly face and kind eyes, and his question greatly confused her. Somebody was trying to be nice to her? Here at Hogwarts? She must have fallen asleep from exhaustion or maybe someone was magical tampering with her mind. Either way it was downright weird.

"Are you okay?" The boy asked again in a quiet voice.

Gathering herself together the best she could, Hermione tried to put on her mature voice, that one she used when correcting classmates and when she wanted something out of a teacher.

"Yes, I am fine thank you. Now if you could just leave me alone like the rest of my house I would be much better." Her voice broke towards the end, the emotional strain unable to be kept away.

"Well if you say so then." When the boy began to retreat towards the door, something began gnawing away in the pit of her stomach, the unidentifiable emotion that came with it was screaming out her to say something, but she just couldn't bring herself to.

"Just so you know, not everyone hates you, but that's just how Slytherin house is. Anybody who is different from them is immediately an outcast." The boy stopped at the door, one last pitying look at Hermione's back brought more words to his mouth. "I'm Neville Longbottom by the way, in case you don't remember." Only silence answered him. "Well bye then."

When the room was silent again, an impulse that Hermione could not explain struck her and carried her feet to the door.

"Neville! Wait." She yelled at the blond boy's back. Slowly she walked over to him, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Can we walk for a bit?" A bright smile greeted Hermione in return and the two began walking towards the nearest staircase.

Talk was awkward. Neville struggled with making small talk, and Hermione just didn't know how to act. She had never had a friend her age, and nobody wanted to interact with her before. They made their up the moving staircase, both still in awe at the sight of constantly moving staircases. They trekked past portraits feasting on a meal or otherwise gossiping with a neighbour. Eventually when the moon was high in the sky with it's pearly brilliance highlighting the grounds, the two found their way into rarely used classroom next to a boy's lavatory.

"Looks like a good night to be outside." Neville spoke quietly as he stared at the window. Silence ensured for a few moments until a question nagging at Hermione couldn't be kept quite anymore.

"Why are you being friendly to me? It's not like anyone else has been"

"I didn't see a reason not to be I guess." Neville stated as if it were the most basic question.

"But everyone else did."

"No, just the Slytherins. But I'm sure that some of them are nice."

"I doubt it. They're all evil."

"Well, you're in Slytherin aren't you?

When the shocking revelation that she had just called herself evil hit, Hermione sat in silence again, questioning herself and whether she too must be evil.

"Don't believe that you are evil though. Not all Slytherin's are. I've heard my Gran telling many stories from when she was in school. Only when she has over-indulged in fire whiskey does she tell the ones about her friends in Slytherin. There are too many to tell, but I can tell you this; not all Slytherin's are bad. Maybe over the years the need to live up to their reputation have caused a few to go astray, but not all have to go that way. They're no different to the rest of us, no matter what they believe. You just need to be able to fit in with them."

"But I'm a mudblood. I will never be able to fit in with them." Unshed tears were forming again as Neville's truth came crashing down on her.

"Then make yourself be like them. You can never change your blood, but maybe if you begin to act like them you will make friends. They don't like you because you are different to them, you stand for something they have been told is bad. Maybe you can show them that they don't have to be the bad guys and either do muggle borns, that they're here with us to learn, share fun times and make memories together. Show the school that they can be good, that we can all get along."

"Like a unified Hogwarts?"

"Like a unified Hogwarts."

The two stared at each other before Hermione did what she had never done before, hugged someone other than family. Happiness bubbled throughout Hermione as she realized what she could do. She had the potential to make friends in her house if she played her cards right.

They bid each other goodnight with the promise if sitting together in Transfiguration again made their way back to their separate common rooms. All the way back Hermione had chided herself for not noticing what Neville had said earlier. She thought she had belonged in Ravenclaw, but if it took another student to open her eyes, maybe it never was the right house for her.

* * *

When Hermione awoke in the morning she struggled to remember if last night was just a realistic dream, or if she had indeed made a friend. Excitement coursed through her veins just at the thought of having a friend here at Hogwarts, when she thought she would be forever hated.

Yesterday morning Hermione awoke with little sleep and many plans on how to deal with her situation on Hogwarts. She tried making herself more confident and proud of who she was. It now struck her as the wrong way to treat her housemates. She no longer wanted to go home; she had a new plan now. Neville's advice the previous night had helped her see the other side of Slytherin. Maybe they were misunderstood, used to being shunned from the rest of the school that when somebody different joins them, they feel the need to shun that individual. Either way Hermione was sure she was going to challenge their approach to her.

Arriving at breakfast early, Hermione sat at the end of the table where the other first sat, and began to serve herself breakfast. As the Great Hall began to fill, she was noticed by the other first years entering.

"Hey mudblood, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be searching for scraps of food outside like a dog?" Draco Malfoy's irritating voice rang with laughter at his own apparent humor. Over the otherisde of the hall Hermione saw Neville watching nervously, and attempted to give her an encouraging smile, which turned more into a grimace.

"Actually Malfoy, I am eating breakfast here as this is also _my _house table and I deserved to sit here."

"But it's your blood that's dirtying our pureblood's, so you deserve to be scrounging around in the dirt."

"Oh give it a rest Draco and just eat your breakfast." A female's voice broke in. Hermione looked her and saw a prefect badge atop green and silver robes. Hope flickered inside her that maybe she did have a chance here.

Begrudgingly Draco sat down as far away from Hermione as possible, followed by his cronies and Pansy, all of which gave Hermione, or at least tried, to give her the dirtiest look they could muster.

Hermione was the first to arrive at potions with the Gryffindors that morning. Sitting alone she hoped that Neville could join her, so she was surprised when a girl sat next to her. Even more surprised to see that she was a Slytherin. Neither girl said a word to the other and soon enough the lesson was in full swing.

Hermione already disliked her head of house, but the way he treated students was appalling. Never did he utter words of encouragement; in fact he quite happily insulted students. Or in her case ignored students when they clearly hand their hand in the air. They didn't prepare a potion today, but worked on the general theory behind potions and of the potion they would be working on next lesson.

There was no chance for talking, even though Hermione had a feeling if there was a chance to talk Snape wouldn't allow it. She had no idea of the girl's name next to her, but figured if she was going to try to make friends she needed to know the names of her dorm mates. Gathering the courage to ask would be difficult knowing that her only reply could be to 'go away mudblood,' or something along those lines.

As soon as class was over the students rushed out of the classroom. Clearly Snape was too intimidating for the students to handle. Hermione tried to find the girl who sat next to her but she was long gone.

Classes finished for the day and Hermione wasn't sure if she was dreading or looking forward to going back to the common room. So far she hadn't had any good experiences inside her common room, much less her dorm. But if Neville was right, she needed to face her peers if she wanted any good memories of Hogwarts. If they actually gave her a chance, then maybe they will see her for who she really


End file.
